Green Bay Packers director of football operations Reggie McKenzie, left, and director of college scouting John Dorsey work the phones the phones in the war room at Lambeau Field for the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 22, 2010, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Siegle, Pool) ** POOL PHOTO **

Former Raiders linebacker Reggie McKenzie will start immediately as the team's new general manager, a league source said.

The Raiders announced Friday that they reached an agreement with the Packers' director of football operations to become their new general manager and scheduled a news conference for 2 p.m. Tuesday to introduce him.

McKenzie, 48, leaves the Packers, who have a playoff bye this week, before they open defense of their Super Bowl championship.

The former Raiders linebacker (1985-88) worked his way up in the Packers' front office for 18 years, overseeing the scouting of potential professional free agents since 2008. McKenzie is a disciple of Ron Wolf, who worked in the Raiders' personnel department for 25 years and later was the Packers' GM for nine years.

Wolf recommended McKenzie to Raiders owner Mark Davis, who along with former Raiders head coach John Madden interviewed McKenzie on Wednesday.

Davis is taking over for his late father, Al, who handled all the personnel decisions until he died in October at age 82. Now that job will fall to a player out of Tennessee whom Al Davis drafted in the 10th round in 1985.

"Reggie's a tremendous evaluator," Wolf told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He can tell you who can play and who can't play. That's what it's all about. Some can write reports but can't tell you who can play. Whatever that is, he has that. He has a feel."

Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson let McKenzie start his new job with Oakland now instead of the end of the postseason and thanked him for 18 years of service.

"Reggie is a tremendous talent, but more importantly, he is a good friend and great family man," Thompson said in a statement. "His contributions to our organization are numerous and he is ready for the opportunity to be a general manager in the National Football League. It's been a privilege to work with Reggie; he is a good man."

There had been speculation that Wolf's son, Eliot, would follow McKenzie to the Raiders, but the Packers are expected to promote the assistant director of player personnel to McKenzie's old job.

McKenzie can lend some of his linebacker instincts to help coach Hue Jackson pick a new defensive coordinator. Chuck Bresnahan will be let go when his contract runs out next week, after the Raiders' defense finished 29th in the NFL.

Last offseason, Jackson sought permission to interview Jets defensive backs coach Dennis Thurman for the coordinator job and was denied. Packers assistant coaches Darren Perry and Winston Moss could also be candidates.